Beauty and Her Beast
by erdbeerpfannkuchen
Summary: Kagome is a servant girl who unwittingly frees a half-demon prince from a 50-year long curse- sort of. Gone from the tree, but not from the witch Kikyo's spell, Inuyasha is forced to live as a hideous dog demon until Kagome can break his curse for good. Will Kagome be able to connect her handsome human prince and the demon that entraps her in his castle? Cliche title, better story.
1. Chapter 1

The rattling in the wagon stopped.

Night had long since fallen, but the drivers had vowed they could make the three-day journey in only two, if they could be allowed to push a bit farther on the second day. This was a clear bid to get in the lady's good favor, but she had permitted it anyway. Kagome blinked her bleary eyes awake and stroked her brother's hair, hoping that he had not yet had his sleep interrupted. Already chatter was beginning outside, and the sound of dismounting and clatter of metal signaled what should be their final stop for the night. In the wagon, it had been black as pitch for hours, but lit torches now passing quickly back and forth cast beams like streaming comets across the stretched canvas. Maneuvering as gently as possible, she slipped out from underneath her brother's resting body and tucked his blanket closer to him, knowing the sudden dearth of her body heat would soon wake him in the cold. She tugged her cloak closer and wrapped her blanket, a parting gift from her mother, over her shoulders as she pulled back the thin flap that covered the wagon entrance.

The drivers had failed to fulfill their promise. Plunged into the dark at the edge of the petrified forest that marked another day's travels to come, the caravan had paused at a poor place to camp. In fairness, the last half-day had been entirely uphill, and it was certainly better than finding themselves unable to go further along the mountain passes they were to cross tomorrow, but the forest border to the Western Lands was known for heavy snowfall and rocky ground. In the afternoon, the sun dipped below the mountains before the horizon, and the eastern side was known for sunsets at dinner and a high moon by supper.

Kagome stepped outside, wind whipping at her blanket even before her shoe touched the snow. Mounted men barked orders above her head and their horses neighed loudly with displeasure at the rushed and jerky movements their riders forced them to perform. "No camp here! Keep moving!" yelled a bannerman from the front of the caravan, wielding the blue, purple and white banner trimmed with gold that displayed the origins of the company.

"The lady cannot mean to make camp in the forest!" shot back a squire, riding up from the back. "The road through it permits no space for a group of this size to pitch tents for at least another day's ride. The ground is poor for horses and wagons alike, and the trees are so dense in places not even starlight reaches low branches."

"Our lady has commanded it, and it shall be done without complaint," said the bannerman before returning towards the front. Others had emerged from larger wagons, before being ushered back inside by the mounted men. Kagome dipped back inside.

"Sister?" her brother called.

"We're not stopping, Souta," she replied, in as reassuring a tone as she could muster. "Go back to sleep."

An uneasy mood settled as everyone assumed their places. The comforting rattling that had lulled her to sleep for the past few hours was reduced to incessant banging as the wheels continuously hit uneven rock. Kagome waited for the sounds of the forest, but there were none. Souta, young as he was, was soon fast asleep again in her arms. His warmth was comforting, but even her brief encounter with the outside was enough to keep her chilled. Unlike the demon servants who all rode fairly comfortably together, the humans were left to wherever there was space in the caravan. Kagome was lucky enough to find a spot in a wagon carrying flour and grains, which gave a fair amount of insulation. Other humans had found themselves stuck between slabs of salted meat, or worse, pots, which only made the wagon feel colder.

They had hardly gone three more hours before they stopped again.

This time when Kagome went out to investigate she nearly slipped on the icy rocks hidden underneath the snow.

"A horse broke its leg near the front," she heard a demon servant explain to a wagon in front of her, "and the torches keep blowing out from the wind. The lady has given leave for us to stop."

At least, for now, the night would be over. Souta was already up when she went back inside. "We can't make camp here, can we?" he asked. He must have heard the squire before.

"No, Souta. We can't leave the wagons, so there will be no camp tonight."

"But what about dinner?"

Kagome smiled. As uncouth as it was, his favorite pastimes were sleeping and eating, and she could hardly fault him. A growing boy needed both rest and food- especially when, on most days, they worked on their feet for hours without end. She promised to try to find him some bread and cheese in another wagon, so long as he didn't complain if she couldn't find him any.

Her steps were more careful this time, but sliding was unavoidable. The food wagon was unmarked to prevent the exact type of pilfering she set out to do, and the only way to tell where it was without a demon's nose was to follow the dogs that were always in tow, who licked up any crumbs that fell out the back. Red faced and shivering, she found the wagon third from the last in the group, seven dogs huddled and whimpering underneath. Sticking her hand up through the canvas cover, she grabbed the first two shapes she felt: two round, stale crusts. Deeming it too risky to step inside to find cheese, Kagome stuffed the bread under her cloak and hurried back to the grain wagon. In her haste, she moved a little too fast for her footing and tumbled into the snow.

Resisting the urge to curse, she stood, making sure she still held the bread, before catching the fleetest movement of her blanket being carried away by the wind.

This time, she did curse. Her mother was ever the practical woman, and more than once Kagome had sent up a prayer thanking her for giving her a blanket for her birthday years ago and not some trinket. At home it was not nearly as cold rarely needed it outside of the winter months. It smelled like her house, like baking bread and raw earth and the river that flowed in the valley. But memento or not, she needed it now for its purpose and not it's sentimental value-her eyes were tearing from the wind already. Kagome darted after the blanket, doing her best to maintain her footing as she chased it into the forest. Any time she got close enough to grab it, she tripped, or a gust would carry it just out of reach. After one hard fall she gave up, resolving to huddle close to her brother and hope that the next day's travel would be kinder. But after she stood, she realized how far her blanket had taken her. In the darkness, there was no indication of which way she came.

Kagome bit back tears and tried to follow her footsteps back. Initially, it worked, but soon she found that the wind had blown the snow and covered her tracks. She followed the same way for a few minutes, but knew she had not gone that direction for so long. Panicked, Kagome turned and ran randomly, hoping and praying it would take her back to the caravan. She saw a clearing ahead and surged forward.

Starlight was able to filter in without the hindrance of the treetops. Just barely, Kagome could see that her blanket was flapping in the strong wind, snagged on something in the snow underneath the single large tree at the center of the clearing. She ran to it and wrapped the blanket around herself, falling on her knees with exhaustion and relief.

The ground beneath her was far lumpier than it had been, even for the notoriously rocky soil of the area. With a start, she realized that the edge her blanket had been stuck on was not merely a twig but the tip of a sword. Struggling to find footing on the ground, she slipped, exposing an icy breastplate that had been blanketed by snow. When her hand pressed into the snow to steady herself, she could feel coarse hair and the outline of an ear. The entire base of the tree was strewn with piled bodies.

She screamed. Kagome sought to grab the trunk for leverage, but her hand landed instead on something warm. She immediately recoiled, and looked up at the living body attached to the tree.

He was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen.

His armor shone an astonishing blood red. The vines that trapped him wove in and out of his thick black hair that fell past his shoulders. But most catching of all was his face- tanned and gently flushed even in the cold, molded so finely she could have easily mistaken him for a statue of a god. His breathing was ragged in his slumber, and cast only the occasional puff of white into the darkness. A large arrow, plunged into his chest just above his heart, seemed to pulse with power. Drawn to it, Kagome wrapped her hands around it and pulled.

A thin spurt of blood burst from his chest but quickly subsided. The man winced, before relaxing again into the tree. She dropped the arrow and touched his face, just for a moment, before he jerked away.

She gasped and fell backwards into the snow bank of corpses. Her hand, seconds ago on the stranger's warm skin, touched a decaying, chainmailed arm. She clapped her other hand over her mouth, afraid to make a noise that would alert the sleeping man of her presence. In her moment of infatuation, she had nearly forgotten the bodies littered below. What if she had freed the man who killed these men? He hadn't even had to trick her. The man groaned and turned in the grasp of the vines.

Kagome ran, not caring which direction. That man, she was sure now, who had slaughtered some unnumbered demons or humans- she hadn't bothered to check which- was now awake. The arrow had surely been a last attempt to kill him, but she had saved the terrible, handsome murderer.

When her feet could no longer carry her, she stopped, shaking. The sky, thankfully, had finally begun to lighten after the endless night. Up ahead, if only faintly, Kagome saw what looked to be a glimmer from a torch. Legs screaming as they pounded into the snow, she raced towards the light, and nearly collapsed out of sheer joy when she saw the caravan. The grain wagon was, astonishingly, just a few meters outside of where she stumbled into the path. Kagome fell inside, and let out the sobbing she had held in for the past few hours. For the cold. The blanket. The corpses. The man. Her life.

"Sister?" Souta called. "Why are your hands covered in blood?"

Kagome, through tears, wiped her bloody hands on her blanket and covered her eyes. It wasn't a dream. All of that horrible nonsense was real.

"Sister?" Souta called again. "Did you get breakfast?"

* * *

Weeks passed. The rest of the journey had gone unhindered, if unpleasant. Aside from the vast differences in climate from the valley, life was mostly the same at the Mountain castle. The first few days of the arrivals of noblemen was marked with color and fanfare that amazed even the demons of high birth. The castle, known for its year-round dreary white and grey palette, was awash with hues of red and gold and whichever colors of the visiting houses had paraded through that morning. But soon after the first servant was hit for gathering water too slowly, distracted by some new influx of banners from the South, the rest of the servants went back to work, no longer dazzled with the distractions of royalty. The colors looked muted after that day.

Kagome spent most of her time scrubbing pots. The water made her hands red for hours afterward, and her back ached from reaching into the larger pots for too long, but it left her with an odd satisfaction some nights. She counted herself lucky. Souta was sent to the stables again, where he would be clearing dung morning to night. He hardly complained, but she knew that he wanted more out of life. She hadn't seen him in five days.

She tried to sleep that night the same way she did every night. The female human servants were all piled in one room and they slept in a mass, warmed by body heat and a menagerie of blankets in varying condition. Her eyes would close, and one by one, she would feel the breathing of the bodies around her become slow and even. Eventually, she too would fall asleep, to the same dream again.

Frozen corpses.

A handsome face.

A spurt of blood.

Her eyes would break open when there was still no light in the sky, and she would try to sleep again, knowing already what would meet her when she closed her eyes. She found the spot on her blanket where she had wiped his blood. Long-dried, it still felt warm.

Another feast was to be held that day, and everyone rose early to the clamor of footsteps and yelling in the kitchen below. Kagome's work was cut out for her before the sun had fully risen. The cooks had started on gravies and stews at midnight the night before. Massive stockpots, crusted in bone marrow and herbs, waited for her. There was no room in the corner of the kitchen where she normally scrubbed, so she had to wash the pots outside. The boiling water made a thick fog around her in the cold, and the clash of temperatures on her skin made her numb.

"Kagome!" a voice yelled from outside the kitchen. Sango, an older human girl, ran out and fanned the steam cloud away. "Our lady has requested a bath, and every demon has been enlisted to scurry around this godforsaken castle to do the bidding of the Lord." Sango scoffed at the title. "I finished in the bakery for the morning but I'm covered in soot. Grab some of the fresh boiled water and take it up."

Kagome gaped. Sango may have soot on her apron, but the steam had wetly plastered her black hair all over her face, and who knows what dinner scraps had smeared themselves all over her dress. "Sango, I really don't think I'm a better choice!" she squeaked. It would be a pitiful sight to see a human in a castle, but a dirty one would surely start rumors as to the wealth of their Lord's home. If Lord Naraku could not spare enough demon servants to send with his eldest daughter to a visit to Lord Sesshomaru, of all people, it would be a slight on both their houses.

Sango, ever brazen, pushed her aside and started scouring in her place. "I mean it, Kagome! If Lady Kagura doesn't get her bath quick…" Sango let Kagome finish the thought for her. Lady Kagura had been notoriously obedient to her father, Lord Naraku, who hated humans almost as much as he wanted Lord Sesshomaru's lands. Who was to say if that trait had been inherited? Lady Kagura was waited on only by demons.

Kagome knew it was futile to argue any further and ran up the passage from the visiting servant's quarters to the castle's servant's quarters. She vaguely remembered other servants of Lady Kagura shouting to take things to the last room on the left side of the guest's chambers, but where that was she hardly knew. It was all demons in the castle walls, so she could hardly expect a pitying look from any of them. Besides, they were whirling around following orders the same way that she was, and distracting them at this time might pique even a normally levelheaded demon.

Hefting the large pot of water, she ghosted underneath legs and between bodies of demons of all kinds, some dressed for the house proper, some for the kitchens and chambers, a few even for the outside and below-quarters like herself. Even an ogre bumped into her, and Kagome barely caught the scalding water all over herself. They carted rags and soap, sumptuous roasted pig dishes stuffed with bayleaf and fruits she had never seen, a rug clawed to shreds, a bucket full of yellow decorative feathers (for who knows what purpose), and more mundane and fanciful objects that blurred as the hoard ebbed and flowed around her. There was one main way out, stuffed to the brim with demons shoving to leave or return. At some point, the crowd was so thick it was at a near stop.

Ten minutes of being pressed between a green-horned thing and a human-looking bear demon were enough. Kagome moved as close as she could to the walls of the servant's quarters, hoping maybe she would find a pack of demons large enough she could scurry under, but soon found that she could barely see beyond the ones in front of her. She had resigned to waiting in line when her hip found a bump in the wall. There was a door to a room that couldn't be half her height, but she supposed it would be better to try than to let the water run cold. Kagome opened the door as wide as she could in the crowd, and slipped in.

The boisterous noise from the crowd ceased as soon as she shut the door behind her. The tiny door opened to a corner in a massive hallway unrivaled in a quiet splendor unlike any she had ever seen. The walls were mirrored on one side and glass on the other, though at first glance it would be difficult to distinguish which was which. The ceiling had an elegant pattern of an azure sky, wrapped in gold and silver filigree tendrils. The mirrors, combined with the vast, empty landscape of the high snowy mountains from the windows made the hall look infinite.

Lord Naraku's palace had been well decorated, of course, but nothing like this. His splendor was dark velvets and rich wood, rooms packed to the brim with exotic trinkets that only could have been gathered over several lifetimes. Naraku's palace was opulence. Sesshomaru's palace was taste.

Kagome's awe was disrupted by little footfalls and the sound of gleeful yelling. Doors burst open at one end of the hall as a tiny girl, no older than six, crashed in, laughing without a care. Her hair was wild, but her clothes were finer than even Lady Kagura's.

"Lady Rin!" Kagome gasped, setting down her pot and curtseying as low as she could muster. Try as she might, bowing to the height of a six year old was no easy feat. "Forgive me for disturbing you, I never-"

Rin laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her down the hallway. "Miss! Miss! If you don't run, Jaken will catch you!"

Kagome stumbled, but followed along. "Lady Rin, I really don't think-"

A tiny green stub of a demon barreled in from behind. "Lady Rin, festivities will begin in nigh ten hours and you've been running around the castle all morning! When Lord Sesshomaru hears of this, He'll give you a piece of his mind! Or I, Jaken, will do it for him!"

Rin only ran faster. "Nah nah! You have to get me first!"

The other doors opened, silently and gracefully. "Lord Sesshomaru!" screamed the tiny child.

Lord Sesshomaru, the great and powerful dog demon of the West, towered above them, dressed in white to match his home and his complexion. Rin let go of Kagome's hand and barreled into her father's arms, prattling about playing games with Jaken, who did his best to defend his honor against the small girl. Sesshomaru gathered Rin with one arm and silenced Jaken with the other, but his eyes never left Kagome.

Kagome curtseyed the best she could manage while violently shaking. Sesshomaru's stature was imposing, but it was his demeanor made her blood freeze. Something about how he looked both refined and wholly repulsed at her existence, even while holding a child, terrified her far more than it should have. "Your highness," she choked, "I am honored to be in your presence."

Jaken went silent, studying his master, but Rin continued to talk. "Oh, and I was going to play with Miss, I told her to help me run away from Jaken…" Rin looked from her somber father to Kagome. "But she looked very busy so I guess that was not very nice of me to do. I'm sorry miss!" She called to Kagome. "Have a nice day!"

"Where was she going?" Sesshomaru spoke to Rin, but his gaze did not move from Kagome.

"Where were you going miss?" Rin yelled down.

Kagome bowed her head to avoid Sesshomaru's face, ankles straining from the awkward position. "I was ordered to draw a bath for Lady Kagura, your ladyship, but I have no inclination where I might find her chambers."

"Jaken, take the Miss to Lady Kagura's room, please!"

"I refuse to take orders from you!" Jaken snapped at the girl.

"Jaken."

That was all that needed to be said from Lord Sesshomaru. Grumbling, Jaken stomped past Kagome down the hall. "Well, human! Come along!" he called, already impatient.

Kagome curtseyed again, graciously thanking Lady Rin and Lord Sesshomaru for their kindness, before scurrying off after Jaken with the pot of water.

"Miss! Wait!"

Jaken was ready to blow a fuse down the hall. Trembling, already exhausted from their brief encounter, Kagome turned back. Sesshomaru had paused in the doorway, back to her, but Rin had crawled over his shoulder and was waving from behind his mass of white hair. "Come play with me again later please!"

Kagome smiled, and promised to do so, before Rin called again. "Miss! What is your name?"

"Kagome, if it pleases you, your ladyship."

"Ka-go-me," Rin tested, smiling. "Thank you and bye Miss Kagome!"

Curtseying one last time, she hurried to catch up to Jaken, staying a few paces behind him.

"You humans! Always so insolent! How dare you scum think you may walk the halls of the great Lord Sesshomaru! If Rin hadn't taken a liking to you my Lord would have ripped your head from your shoulders before you could so much as blink at him, I guarantee!"

He continued on like this the whole way through the palace, each room growing more icily beautiful than the last. Kagome considered asking about why the Lord Sesshomaru kept a human girl, but thought better of it. Scandalous as it was, nobody questioned Lord Sesshomaru's judgement, as odd as it seemed.

Jaken eventually stopped at one of the large guest rooms on the second floor. Kagome tested the water with her finger, and thankfully it was still acceptable bath temperature. "… and don't you forget your place, human! Next time, get a proper demon to do demons work!" With a huff, he turned to the opposite direction and continued his rant as he left, just the same as if Kagome was behind him.

Kagome knocked gently on the door, to an uninterested reply beckoning her in. Lady Kagura was already fully nude and lounging on her couch, flipping through the pages of some old book of poetry. The bath at the center of the room had already been filled with salts and dried flowers. Wasting no time, Kagome filled the bath and started mixing it with a large decorative rod set next to the bath, hazarding a guess at its purpose. She gathered some hot coals from the fire and placed them beneath the porcelain tub, hoping to bring the temperature up slightly. When the water was a soft translucent green and hissed gently with warmth, Kagome announced the bath was ready.

Kagura set the book down and walked over to the bath, easing her way in gently. "Not as warm as I'd like," she said, pinning her hair up. The lady regarded Kagome cooly but without the malice of the castle lord. "Do you intend to wash me when you yourself look so dirty, human?"

"Forgive me, your ladyship," Kagome said, curtseying. She decided that she didn't really mind scrubbing pots if it saved her the discomfort of bowing at everyone she met.

"If it can't be helped, you'll have to do," she sighed, relaxing into the water. "I will wash my face, you will do the rest. You do know how to wash, don't you girl?"

Kagome gulped. The lady would probably not be amused to hear that she washed pots nearly every day.

She grabbed a soft sponge and a bar of pleasant-smelling soap and gently began to wash the lady's body. Thankfully, Kagura seemed to enjoy most of it, occasionally giving out a hum of contentment. When Kagome finally reached her neck, Kagura caught her hand.

"My lady?" Kagome asked, softly. Kagura pulled at her arm, inspecting it.

"The salts must have been hiding it before," she muttered, running her hand over Kagome's wet skin. "Girl, you smell like dog."

"My lady, I apologize, I wasn't given time to change before I was told to bring your water." Something about Kagura's expression seemed off, beyond distaste with her smell. "I will make sure to be as clean as possible for your presence next time."

"It's not that," Kagura said, suspicion rising in her voice. "Girl, do you know why so many people have come to feast with Lord Sesshomaru this season?"

"No, Lady." It was the truth- when the squires had come to gather a selection of servants, both demon and human, to accompany the Lady on the expedition to the mountains, Kagome was told no more than that they were leaving and their return time would be uncertain.

"Lord Sesshomaru has extended this welcome to neighboring lords as a show of goodwill," she said, calmly. "But it has been rumored that the real reason is that the Lord intends to take a wife to serve as a mother to his human child. Any woman, or any family, joined to the household of Lord Sesshomaru would be granted exceptional power over all the West. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Father intends to make as many daughters as necessary until Sesshomaru finds one suitable for marriage," she said, bluntly dropping their titles.

"Surely, between your beauty, rank, and wealth, you would be a suitable match for Lord Sesshomaru," Kagome said, wincing as Kagura dug her fingernails into her arm.

"Yes, but Sesshomaru does love his humans," she said. "And you smell like dog."

Kagome balked at her insinuation. "I could never!"

Kagura laughed. "I know. But that doesn't mean Sesshomaru wouldn't. He has ways of getting what he wants." She stepped out of the bath and pulled a towel around her body, returning to her couch. "Girl, from now on, you will be the one to wash me."

Kagome nodded, dumbfounded. In silence, she mechanically completed her tasks: clearing the dead coals, cleaning the wet floor, and tidying up the room. She drained the bathwater, casting it into the chute that dumped the discards off the side of the mountain. Kagome normally would have mused about how quickly the water would freeze before it hit the ground, but she was far too shocked to think of anything. Once finished, Kagome gave Lady Kagura a final curtsey, turning to the door.

"Girl," Kagura spoke from behind her pages. Kagome waited. "I have a request for you."

* * *

The wind had not let up since their arrival, Kagome thought with a groan. At the edge of the woods, the wind howled like the dog ancestors that haunted the place.

Kagura thought that Sesshomaru had begun an affair with her, so she sent her to die in a rather clever fashion. Longing for the scent of home, she protested, she could no longer deal with the coal fires that insulated Sesshomaru's household. Burning would was the only thing that could appease her- incense was not enough to cover the acrid smell of the dust. Though Kagome had no demon's nose, she knew that the fires of Lord Sesshomaru's castle were not at all unpleasant. Firewood would not have been an outrageous request if the forest around his castle was not entirely petrified.

Kagome had found Souta that evening and told him that she was going to be exceptionally busy that week, what with all the activity in the kitchen, and he should not expect to see her for a while. She already hadn't seen him in ages, and he had been suspicious when she talked to him, but it had just been an excuse to see him one last time. Kagome did not intend to die in the woods, but she wasn't taking chances.

Now, faced with actually going into the forest, she realized just how melodramatic she had been. There was no way she was going to die because Lady Kagura thought that Lord Sesshomaru, of all people, had taken her- a human servant- for a courtesan! She was far more afraid of Sesshumaru than the woods, anyway. If she couldn't find any wood by the time the first rays of sunset rose, she would head back and grovel for forgiveness. Lady Kagura was unlikely to have her punished too harshly at a guest's home, especially under the false impression that she and Sesshomaru…

Kagome made a face. She didn't even want to think about spending another moment in the presence of that terrifying man. Something about him reminded her of that dream. She gripped her blanket as a chill shot down her spine. Her hand always managed to find that spot, where his blood was, no matter how she turned or folded the fabric.

It wasn't long past dawn. Armed with little more than cheese for lunch and her blanket, Kagome set forth back into the woods.

* * *

Despite the wind, the air was much warmer by the afternoon, and it was turning into a genuinely pleasant day. She had even taken her blanket off of her shoulders. The forest was eerily quiet, but it was actually rather relaxing after the disaster that was the castle. It made her miss her mother and their little village in the valley outside Lord Naraku's castle. She missed when her father came home with a sampling of the day's catch from the river docks, and her grandfather's old stories from when he lived by the sea.

She had walked straight into the forest for the past few hours, deciding that if she just followed the same direction in and out, she wouldn't get lost. The thick, leafless branches, so awful at night, cast a soft dappled light by day. For the first time since she left home, Kagome felt comfortable. She fell asleep, and when she awoke, she realized it had been the first time she slept in weeks without the dream.

Her nap had taken significant time out of her day. The sun was low, but not so low that sunset had begun. Deciding to wander a little longer in her futile search for firewood, Kagome could almost thank Lady Kagura for granting her a day off.

The terrain grew rockier the further she walked into the forest. Less disturbed by demons, she supposed. While the forest was down the mountain from Sesshomaru's castle, the slope, the way she'd taken, was gradual. Even on the lower side of the mountain, great rocky masses shot up from the earth in jagged patterns.

Sky melted from grey to a light yellow as she descended. Clouds parted at the edge of the far mountains, just enough for the bright orange sun to burst out, smashing rays to every corner of the scenery. Kagome smiled. The mirror room must look beautiful now.

Reluctantly, Kagome reasoned that it was best to head back early, since her hike was uphill. Gathering her skirts, she stepped up the mountainside, a little too gingerly. In her lazy pace of the morning she had forgotten the ice beneath the snow that had caught her in the dark those weeks before. She slipped, tumbling down the mountain at a racing pace.

She screamed, balling herself up to protect her head from rocks and trees as she continued to pick up speed. After what felt like eons, she slammed to a stop on a boulder. Nothing was broken, but she was winded and sliced from the rocks. Groaning, Kagome gripped her stomach where she had hit the boulder and staggered to her knees. She had landed at the base of one of the lower peaks, shadowed from above by the thick, lifeless trees. Up ahead, smoke rose from another castle, far smaller than Sesshomaru's, but similar in design; it seemed to emerge out of the mountainside like it had formed naturally. Kagome hesitated. Obviously not all demon lords would tolerate injured human girls at their doorstep, but the yellow light in the sky was quickly fading to pink. Surely, if there were goings-on at the grand castle, the lord of this place must be away. Even if they weren't, harming a servant of a visitor of Lord Sesshomaru's would be an intolerable act.

Plus, her stomach really, really hurt.

Kagome limped her way up the side of the mountain, dragging one sore leg in front of the other. The incline to the castle was small, but a wrought-iron fence blocked her path far before the entrance. Defeated, Kagome propped herself against it. "Will someone please help me?" she called to the castle, as politely as she could.

Before everything went black, all she saw was a flash of white and teeth and the first red ray of sunset.

* * *

 **AN:** Please R&R! Sorry for the long opening, but I had to set a lot of things in motion.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN** : Warnings for blood and death mentions.

* * *

The old woman stood back from the dirt pit, fat wet clumps clinging to her hands. She had combed through the first seven feet of soil in the mausoleum twice, making sure to have picked up every last scrap of bone. The fruits of her labor sat quietly in a jar against the wall, next to another larger jar filled with burial soil to up to the brim. Her job was done.

Tucking the two jars into the basket on her back, the woman exited the tomb to face another crone, albeit one half her age. All of her flesh was her own, at least.

"Urasue!" snapped the younger, "return my sister's bones!"

Urasue was nonplussed. "Not after I went through so much effort to get them, my dear. If I had found what I really wanted, your sister would not be coming with me."

"If you wish to return her soul to those dead things," Kaede said, pointing to the basket with her cane, "yer work was for naught. Her soul has long ago passed on to the next world."

"Wherever it may be, a soul will return with the right magic," Urasue replied, "for much the same reason that simple charms won't protect a grave from robbers."

"And if she has reincarnated?"

Urasue shrugged. "With the right magic."

Kaede sent a blast of lightning from her cane, the night lit with a screaming crash of thunder. But Urasue had been too quick, and her silhouette, framed by her large scythe, was the only black mark in the sky. The spot Urasue had occupied seconds prior had been eviscerated, and the leaf litter surrounding the grave set aflame. Kaede muttered a halfhearted hex against Urasue, and with a wave of her cane extinguished the small brushfire. Night settled again.

The mausoleum's structure was undisturbed aside from the stone door, carelessly tossed a few feet away. The soil was entirely upturned inside the grave, but the little herb garden a few paces away was the same as it had always been.

Kaede sighed. She was too old for this. Why would anyone want to live like that damned Urasue? How many humans had tried to achieve a fraction of the lifespan of a demon, stitching their flesh together and denying their limited fate? Her sister too had fallen into the practice, though that was consequence more of her power than the pure greed Urasue felt. Kaede had, in her youth, sacrificed a good deal of her own years for a quick path to power. That had been the first and last time she had dabbled in dark magic. She had spent the rest of her life using her mistake for good. After all this time, Kaede had not decided whether or not she regretted it.

Her sister's bones were now only sacred for what they meant to her. If Kaede had ever intended to use their power, she already would have. They had been dead for decades, and had surely lost their potency by now. Even with Urasue's power, it was unlikely she could conjure anything with them.

Kaede determined that whatever damage had been done could be addressed in the morning. She shuffled back to her hut, deciding to make a cup of tea before bed.

* * *

"Do you think she's dead?"

"Obviously not, you fool. She's breathing fine."

"Not _her_ , stupid, the other one, who the idiot keeps yelling about."

"Oh, yes, if you're talking about her, she's certainly dead. Or, at least, probably dead."

"You don't sound so sure."

The sound of sudden howling rendered the rest of the chatter unintelligible. Kagome's head throbbed, and the ache in her stomach hadn't receded any. The side of her neck itched. She must have moved, because the chatter momentarily stopped.

"Miss?" Came the voice of an old man, close to her ear. "Have you awoken, my girl?"

"Of course she woke up, with you sucking her blood like that." said the other voice.

Kagome's eyes shot open and her hand slapped to her neck, swatting away some annoyance- but hadn't been the itch, or the voices, but the incessant banging sound that woke her. She sat up and whirled her head around, only aggravating her headache, searching for the voices. The banging continued from a nearby room.

"Hello?" came a pitiful voice from her lap.

On her apron lay a bug-size man with antenna where his moustache should be. Kagome yelped with surprise, shaking him off.

Another voice cackled from underneath the couch. Peeking underneath, a boy no older than ten was hooting at the expense of the little bug demon. A deafening roar from the other room broke through the boy's levity, and he scrambled from under the couch to pick up the bug man, exposing a fluffy fox tail.

"MYOGA! SHIPPO!" boomed the voice from the other side, so powerful she was sure it hadn't come from any human or demon she had ever seen.

The fox boy gulped, but feigned bravery. "We're not letting you in until you calm down!"

He was answered with a ferocious barking. The bug demon shook in the fox boy's palm.

"Hey," said the fox boy to a white-faced Kagome, "what's your name?"

Kagome gave it, stuttering, eyes now transfixed on the origin of the enraged cacophony.

"Her name is Kagome, not Kikyo!" the fox boy yelled to the door.

"Could she be lying?" the bug man asked, hiding behind the boy's thumb.

"Would you lie in her situation?"

"If it would spare me my life…"

Kagome, realizing that her executioner was the source of the banging, felt tears well in her eyes. Whatever attacked her before had meant to kill her. She was tired, starving, sore, and some beast wanted her dead. She would have done anything to be in Souta's place, shoveling horse filth.

The bug and the fox demon traded the blame for making her cry, when the door splintered and broke. In a blur of motion, the couch toppled over with the weight of the monster, rocketing Kagome on the floor and into a wall.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" Roared the beast, pressing its massive snout into her face. Claws at either side of her head trapped her to the floor by her hair. Hot saliva dripped onto her blouse and down her cheek.

"Fur brain!" yelled the fox boy. "If the girl could do any magic, she probably would have used it to escape by now!"

"Silence," the monster demanded. Taking her skirts in his mouth, the monster dragged Kagome to the center of the room and sniffed her top to bottom. Kagome balled her body up as tight as possible, hiccupping with fear. He pushed her arms from her face with chair-sized paws. "I commanded you to be silent!"

For an instant, she saw his eyes, bulging, red, and full of hate. The moment the monster saw hers, his growling ceased, and he turned away. With a huff, he stepped over her and back through the broken door, white tail dragging on the floor behind him.

For the second time that day, Kagome fainted.

* * *

This time when she opened her eyes the little fox boy was fanning her face with a lampshade. "It was all I could find!" he said, before she even opened her mouth.

"We made tea," said the bug man. He hardly stood above the saucer.

"We?" asked the fox.

"You know if I could help, I would."

"Ha! You don't help when you can!"

Kagome groaned and turned her face away from the two.

"My dear Kagome," said the bug, "I beg your pardon for our rudeness and the rudeness of our master earlier."

Kagome would have laughed if it didn't hurt to even try.

"You see," he continued, "there has been a case of mistaken identity that rather unfortunately for you has resulted in a grievous error on the part of milord."

"Fleabag thought you were someone else," said the fox.

"How dare you insult my kind!" Squeaked the bug.

So he was a flea demon. That explained the blood sucking.

"I'm Shippo, and he's Myoga," said the fox, continuing his rapid fanning, "and we're really sorry."

Kagome sighed and closed her eyes again, longing to sleep off her injuries and her emotional turmoil.

"The master is sensitive of his condition, and hasn't had a visitor in ages" said Myoga. "Please don't fault him too dearly for his crass behavior."

Even Shippo, who seemed the more realistic of the two, seemed to agree. "He's annoying and he's always had a bad temper, but he got a lot worse after he was cursed."

How could she expect to sympathize with a beast that attacked her twice? For that matter… "What happened to me at the gate?" she asked, more to herself than the two demons.

"Oh," Shippo said. "I stopped him with foxfire until we could bring you inside."

"And I sucked enough blood from his head to make him drowsy for a day or so," said Myoga, patting his swollen stomach.

A wave of guilt washed over Kagome. She hadn't considered the lengths the two little demons might have gone through to save her. Neither made themselves out to be a hero, but she expected that it must have taken a good deal of effort to stave off the beast if the scene earlier was any indication. Kagome sat up and took the tea from its tray. It was still warm. They had placed her blanket over her, too. "Thank you both, though I can't think of any way to repay you," she said. Kagome mustered a smile.

"Well, there might be a way," Myoga said, tentatively. Shippo hit him with the lampshade. Myoga yelped.

"You can't ask that of her!" Shippo hissed. "She's been through enough."

"But it could be the master's only option."

"Curse or no curse, it's his own fault."

Kagome sipped her tea and let them argue.

"Milord was tricked!"

" _Milord_ was greedy."

The door nudged open, and milord padded in.

The monster, as she had called him, was a dog that dwarfed the little sitting room. Kagome, fully standing, would have barely reached the bottom of his shoulders, his head and neck taking up another good half of her body. She blanched.

"Girl," said the dog, "what is your name?"

"Kagome," she said, firmly. Some of her courage had returned to her voice, but her grip on her tea was white-knuckled. She refused to meet his eyes, even as he circled around her. The two little demons sat quietly for once and watched.

He sniffed at her again, a low growl rising in his throat. "Why have you come to my castle?"

"I had no intention of finding your castle at all, your lordship," she said, remembering her manners. "I was heading in the opposite direction when I fell down the mountain, quite literally on your doorstep."

"Where were you going?"

"Lord Sesshomaru's castle, my lord."

The dog hesitated briefly but continued his pacing. "For what purpose?"

"To return to my lady's service, my lord."

"What lady?"

"Lady Kagura."

The dog looked unimpressed. Kagome felt a small bit satisfaction at that, having lost any interest in preserving her lady's reputation. "And in what capacity do you serve your lady?"

"I wash pots." Kagome bitterly recalled her most recent conversation with Kagura. "I also wash my lady when she commands it." She'd rather wash the pots.

"Two ill-matched duties," said the dog.

"I would agree, if I were in a position to say so."

"And why are you given the tasks of both a peasant and a lady's maid?"

"Were I in any position to say, my lord," Kagome said, venom leeching into her tone, "it would be ill of me to do so. My speculation as to the decisions of my lady would be entirely gossip. A loose tongue is a poor trait in a peasant and lady's maid alike."

The dog stopped his pacing and glared at her. This time, Kagome looked right back at him.

"I didn't ask whether or not it was appropriate to tell me. I asked you why."

"Forgive me," Kagome said, "But to fully understand the intentions of Lady Kagura, you will have to ask her yourself."

"Why, you insolent wench!" Spat the beast, dropping formalities. Kagome, resolute, did not waver despite the knot that grew in her stomach.

"My lord," she said, "if you would like to know my opinion, I would be happy to provide it, though I don't espouse to know the truth in its entirety."

He twitched with rage, but folded. "Fine," he said, gruffly.

"Lady Kagura believes I am involved in some illicit relationship with Lord Sesshomaru, and wants to keep her eye on me."

Silence fell upon the room. Kagome's fingers clenched so tightly on the cup, she thought it would shatter.

He laughed. She couldn't tell whether it was in genuine amusement, derision, or some mix of both. "Sesshomaru doesn't give a shit about humans, especially pot-washers."

"While I'm inclined to agree, Lord Sesshomaru has also taken in an orphaned human girl and is raising her as his heir. For what purpose is anyone's guess."

His laughter only grew, but Kagome pushed up her chin.

"Milord, by your leave, the girl speaks the truth," piped Myoga. "In your absence, much has changed."

Shippo squeezed the bug demon between his fingers. "Bad timing."

"What are you all planning? Trying to distract me from some witch's trap?" The dog asked, humor evaporating. "Why did this Kagura really think you were fucking Sesshomaru?"

The frankness of his question sent blood rushing to her face. "She said I smelled like dog." She must smell like dog now, with the monster's slobber all over her front.

Padding towards her, he quickly sniffed at her again. "Girl, do you practice magic?"

"Never in my life." She hardly believed in it. Magic could only be done by humans, and in a demon's world, human power of any kind was rare to come by.

"You reek of it."

"Is that what that is?" asked Shippo. "I just thought you smelled really nice, Kagome. Nicer than most humans."

The dog growled. "Whatever you say, girl, my nose doesn't lie. If you haven't used magic, you've been around it for a long time."

Kagome couldn't think of when that could have happened. "I sleep in the same room as a dozen other humans every night, my lord. There could be a witch among them, but I promise you I know nothing of it."

His mouth twisted in a mocking sneer. "Is this on the nights you're not sleeping with Sesshomaru?"

Abruptly, Kagome stood. "Enough! Do you think that I would be sent out into the depths of a dead forest alone if I meant anything to some pretentious self-important liege lord? Do you think such a prideful man would lower themselves to a pot washer, or do you really suspect that my so-called magic is strong enough to seduce the ruler of all the Western Lands? You, my lord, give me far too much credit." Kagome slammed the tea and saucer on the little sitting table. "If you are thoroughly done with me, I must get back to freezing to death in the forest, so that Lady Kagura will be fully satisfied that I don't pose a threat to her attempts at captivating the great Lord Sesshomaru." With that, she curtseyed as dramatically as could with her injuries and breezed out of the sitting room.

She had hardly made it down the hallway when the dog bounded out of the room, turning to block her way. "I won't allow you to leave, wench."

"My lord, I do apologize, but there are others who need my assistance. I can only imagine how many pots need to be washed, how cold Lord Sesshomaru must be without me to warm his bed."

"Watch your tongue!"

Kagome picked up her skirts and waltzed past his massive haunches like they were a piece of furniture.

The dog doubled back, blocking her once more, more careful to obstruct any means of escape. "I'll gut you if you take another step."

"Will you take the risk? Don't you fear my magic?" Her fear had fully dissipated, rage filling her with a foolish bravery.

The beast leapt.

Light filled the hallway all at once, absorbing all color and noise. Kagome closed her eyes, blinded by the white expanse. The brightness receded, and at its center, a sphere appeared. Out of instinct, she reached out to touch it.

The light sunk into her body and rushed out her arm.

When the world reformed around her, the beast was lying on the ground at the far end of the hallway. Her ears rang. Her arm, still extended, trembled.

He tried to stand, but his limbs buckled and he fell, head lulling to the side of his body.

Kagome ran, following down any hallway she could find. She wanted to be out of the castle, out of the woods, out of the mountains, far away from demons and magic and the cold.

She fled down a large flight of steps that merged the two wings of the castle, whipping past the grand columns and balustrades to the door at the front. Kagome slammed her weight into it, once, twice, three times, but it wouldn't budge. She grabbed the gilded handle and pulled.

The wind caught the door and hurled it open, carrying in powdery snow. Kagome ran into the wind, falling from its force and the high snowbanks.

A roar broke out behind her, muffled by the howling gusts. She turned back to see the door ajar, the dog laid flat and limp in the entryway.

She looked out into the darkness, and back to the beast.

Aided by the wind, she ran back to him.

* * *

Shippo and Myoga helped her pull him back inside. Kagome struggled, but managed to close the door after several attempts.

The two little demons hunched over their master. Shippo had grabbed his lampshade while Kagome had been working with the door, and fanned him at a rapid pace.

"My girl," Myoga said as she returned to the dog, "run to the cellar beneath the kitchen and find the cabin that holds the wine. At the farthest corner to the left there are five bottles in a basket. Bring them."

Kagome sped past the finery of the castle, which looked to be more and more neglected the further she delved into the interior. The kitchen was covered in cobwebs, and the lock to the cellar had rusted shut. She grabbed a wrought iron pan and struck it, the rotted wood crumbling away immediately.

The dust below was suffocating. The only light filtered in from the kitchen, and that was dim. Coughing, she retrieved the basket and returned to the entrance hall.

Myoga looked rather heartbroken she had found it. "Help him drink them," he sighed.

Kagome tried to pull the dog demon's head into her lap, but he jerked away from her.

"I'm sorry," she said, and gently stroked his fur to show that she meant it.

She uncorked one of the bottles and pulled back the beast's lips, pouring the red liquid into his mouth.

The beast growled, and thrashed away. "Myoga," he croaked, "you bastard."

As the liquid dribbled down her hands, Kagome realized the bottles were full of blood.

"You couldn't have expected me to finish all of that in one sitting, could you?" said the flea, bouncing onto Kagome's shoulder.

"It's his blood?" she asked, grimacing. How morbid.

"Stranger things have already happened tonight," the flea replied. "Blood as medicine shouldn't surprise you."

Kagome had to give him that. She reached for the beast again, and dumped the rest of the first bottle between his lips. The beast gurgled and tensed, but didn't protest.

By the time that all the bottles were emptied, her arms were bloody up to her elbows. The demon's white fur had matted and crusted around his mouth, but he could stand without wobbling after he rested a few more minutes.

Myoga declared his ribs to be shattered and one of his back legs split, but nothing that wouldn't be healed within the week. He began to chide his master for having moved in his condition, which must have only aggravated his injuries, but a low growl silenced him before Myoga could get very far. Shippo mopped up the blood with a rag Kagome was relatively sure was once a slipcover for a chair. "Save that for me!" the flea yelled to the fox boy when he had finished.

"Has anyone told you that you're gross lately?" the boy said, flinging the rag into the basket that now held five empty bottles, carting them off back towards the kitchen. The flea followed, complaining about the fox's lack of respect for elders.

The demon and the girl were left alone.

"Why did you come back?" he asked.

"I don't know," Kagome answered, truthfully. She looked from the beast to her own bloody arms and wondered what had come over her.

"Kagome!" the fox called, tottering back from the cellar. "You're staying the night, right?"

"I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" The weather outside was more terrifying than a beast that could hardly move.

Shippo's face spread into a wide grin. "I'll make up a guest room!" He bolted up the stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"So full of energy, that one." Said Myoga, now settled somewhere in Kagome's hair.

"Leave us, old man," the dog rasped.

Myoga squeaked and hopped off after Shippo.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said, again, once the little demons disappeared into one of the castle wings.

"Why? I tried to kill you, girl," he grunted. He took a moment to lie back down. The standing must have strained him. She was amazed he had made it downstairs after her.

Kagome wondered if she wiped the demon's blood on her apron if she would smell even more like dog, and regretted the thought. If she ever saw Lady Kagura again, it would be too soon.

"You look just like the witch who cursed me," the beast said.

"Kikyo?"

His ears perked up. "The curse forbids me from saying so."

"In the sitting room, Shippo told you that my name wasn't Kikyo," Kagome said. "I guessed."

"Everyone knows. I don't know why the ban on her name is even part of the curse."

"Is that why you attacked me?"

He looked away, huffing in a way that sounded suspiciously like an apology.

"Then even with… whatever happened in the hallway," Kagome said, choosing her words with care, "you don't think I'm her?"

"She would have had much more control," he said. "She is much stronger than you."

Shippo bounded down the stairs, unwittingly diffusing the tense air. "Kagome, how many pillows do you want on your bed?"

Kagome laughed. She hadn't slept with a pillow in months. "However many you'll give me."

The boy counted on his fingers, made a panicked groan, and ran back upstairs.

"I want you to break my curse."

Kagome, in shock, spun back to the dog, whose gaze was fixed on some fraying tapestry behind her. "Do you think I can?"

"Witches aren't very easy to come by."

Kagome stood. The blood on her hands had begun to turn brown, and was now only sticky and red between her fingers. "I don't know the first thing about magic."

"You'll learn."

A low echo of voices sounded from atop the stairs. The little demons were quarreling again. "… and the tea is still boiling, you can't serve it like that!"

Shippo tried to balance a tray packed with pastries and sugar and cream while swatting at the flea by his neck. "Well, it's the thought that counts! You're not trying to help me, I'm doing all the work to make her comfortable!"

"Who was it that saved the lord a few moments ago? What were you accomplishing with that lampshade of yours?"

"The only way you helped him was giving him back the blood _you_ sucked out of him!" Shippo said, before putting on another winning smile for Kagome. "The room is still a little dusty, so I brought out tea and cake for the wait," he said.

"Thank you, Shippo, but I think I'll have to wash up first." She held up her bloody hands.

Myoga bounced from Shippo to Kagome. "Lady Kagome, I would be more than happy to show you to your washroom."

"No fair! I want to go with Kagome! What do I do with this?" Shippo held up the tray, following the girl and the flea up the grand staircase.

"Take them to her room, you silly child. The tea was too hot anyway," said Myoga.

"Girl," the beast called softly from below.

Kagome stopped, and looked down at the demon. "I will give you an answer tomorrow, my lord."

"Beast," he grunted, "is a good enough name for me."

How could a thing so powerful be so pitiful?

"Good night then, Beast."

Faintly, as she turned the corner, she heard him say goodnight back.

* * *

The cave was damp, but it had become a suitable second home to Urasue. Most of her highly combustible materials were kept there, safely out her cozier wooden shack. They had a tendency to be volatile, even with protective charms.

The burial dirt had been formed like a sarcophagus around the bones. Herbs were scattered strategically over the mass: angelica and absinthe for the head, carnation at the wrists, willow and wormwood in the left hand, boneset along the limbs, and vervain and elm on the heart. Finishing with a large ring of salt marked by candles, Urasue surveyed her work.

As dark magic went, the setup for reanimation wasn't difficult. It was all in timing and execution. Waxing moon, no stars, though Cassiopeia and Andromeda should be in the rising stages for best results. The burning should begin right at midnight, but within the hour is acceptable. Ideally, it should be a place free of any aura of death, but Urasue had to make compromises. There was enough smell of death coming from her alone that any location would be at least a little tainted.

The lamb let out a bleat as the baby girl next to it slept. Urasue frowned. She hated working with live ingredients.

At the stroke of midnight, the clouds parted, and the moon shone right at the head of the dirt body. Urasue lit the first candle and tipped it into the salt. The altar set ablaze, engulfing the herbs and soil. A thick haze of smoke filled the cave.

Urasue spread her hands above the fire, chanting a spell in an ancient tongue in a low, hushed tone.

The flames rose, but after five minutes of continuous focus, not even a flicker of Kikyo's soul appeared.

The witch clenched her teeth. The lamb bleated louder as Urasue led it toward the flames. It was only a day old, but they were supposed to be fresher. Urasue sliced its throat with her nail and tossed the body into the fire.

The flames jumped high and took on a menacing green tint.

The eel-like tails of soul collectors slithered in, bearing spheres of light. They arrived in a swarm, so many packing into the small cave that the witch had little room to even move. As numerous as they were, none could enter the flames.

Urasue turned her head. Behind her, the sky was awash with a pale light. Where the soul ended and the collectors began, she couldn't say.

Was her soul really that big? Or had she really been reincarnated?

The witch picked up the sleeping baby girl. The girl had been born that night, and still hadn't been washed.

Urasue slashed her throat, and blood spattered across the cave wall. The souls flooded into the dirt, and all went black but the moon.

In the darkness, the earth moved.

* * *

 **AN:** Hey all! Another long chapter. I'm sensing a pattern…

The amount of dialogue in this way more than I'm used to. I'm blaming Shippo and Myoga.

Would anyone be interested in beta-ing this? I haven't had a beta before but considering how long this is I'm starting to think this would be a good plan. I keep catching little errors (I tend to go overboard on commas lmao)

Anyway, please review! I'm kinda considering breaking the chapters into smaller chunks bc I love seeing feedback and more chapters means more reviews! Right?!

 **Quick update- Finals is busting my ass so HOPEFULLY I'll start updating again early May. Sorry to take a break this early on.**


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